Feeding and measuring device and method



Feb. 8, 1944. G. L. STERNFIELD ET AL 2,341,340

FEEDING AND MEASURING DEVICE AND METHOD 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 15,1941 gENTORS STEP/{EN 4. AL w/v.

660/965 4.575 IVF/f 0 ATTO R N E Y5 Feb. 8,1944. G. L. STERNFIELD ET ALFEEDING AND MEASURING DEVICE AND METHOD Filed April 15, 1941 4Sheets-Sheet 2 I INVENTORS jaw/aw L. 64.4 MN

A 575 107530. A TTO k N E Y5 1944. a. 1.. STERNFIELD ET AL 2,341,340

FEEDING AND MEASURING DEVICE AND METHOD I Filed April 15, 1941 4Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS STEP/l5 L. GALV/M GEO/36E L. .575

Feb. 8, 1944. G. L. STERNFIELD ET AL 2,341,340

FEEDING ANDMEASURING DEVICE AND METHOD Filed April 15, 1941 4Sheets-Sheet 4 ATTORNEYS are being fed into successive packages.

Patented Feb. 8, 1944- FEEDING AND MEASURING DEVICE AND METHOD George L.

Sternfield, New York, N. Y.,

and

Stephen L. Galvin, North Bergen, N. J., assignors to Continental Foods,Inc., Hoboken, N. J., a corporation of Illinois Application April 15,1941, Serial No. 388,596

package a certain amount of dry materials and a certain amount ofplastic and more or less sticky materials, or in some cases liquidwhich, being taken up by certain of the solid ingredients, form aplastic and more or less sticky mass.

These latter materials present difficulties during the feeding operationand during subsequent handling of the package because of the tendency ofthe material to deposit masses of the material on the various surfaceswith which they may come in contact during the feeding operation. .And,if care is not taken to protect the walls of the package, a certainamount of this material may adhere to surfaces which are intendedsubsequently to be sealed together and may interfere with propersealing. Even where feeding nozzles have been provided projectingintothe package with the intent of protecting the walls of the packageit has been found that the sticky material tends to adhere to the edgesof the nozzle and eventually to work up on the outside of the nozzlewhere it may still come in contact with the Walls of the Package.Moreover, this tendency to adhere to the edges of the walls-of thefeeding device may result in destroying the accuracy of the measurementof the amounts which A certain amount of the sticky material may bewithheld from each package by adhering to the edges or inner surfaces offeeding nozzles; subsequently when the adhering material has built upto-a substantial amount the mass may break loose and result in anexcessive amount of the material being delivered into one package.

tion, as will be more fully explained below.

' We have also found, as set forth in our copending application, SerialNo. 388,597, filed herewith, that a similar disadvantage may occur whenthe material is used if the sticky material is allowed to adhere to theinner surface of the package; and we have found that by a propercorrelation of the feeding of dry and sticky materials, as hereinafterset forth, these disadvantages may be avoided and the package describedand claimed in our copendand automatically produced.

Accordingly, it is one object of the present invention-to provide afeeding and proportioning device which will at all timesmaintainaccurate proportions.

It is another object of the invention to provide a feeding device fordry materials and plastics which will at all times be self-cleaning.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device for fillingpackages in which more or less sticky ingredients are prevented fromcoming in contact with the walls of the package.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device for fillingpackages with a dry and more or less sticky material which willautomatically position the sticky material within the mass of drymaterial as supplied to the package.

Other objects and advantages of our invention will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art from the following description and the accompanyingdrawings.

Although we have described herein and shown in the accompanying drawingsa preferred embodiment of our invention and certain modificationsthereof, it will be understood that these are not intended to beexhaustive nor limiting of the invention, but on the contrary are chosenand set forth for the purpose of enabling others skilled in the artfully to understand the principles of the invention and theirapplication'in practical use, in order that others may utilize theinvention with any of numerous modifications and in various forms eachas may be best adapted to a particular use.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary view in vertical axial section of a feedingdevice embodying'my invention;

Fig. 2 is a view in cross section taken on lines 2--2 of Fig. 1; r j

Fig. 3 is a view in front elevation on a smaller scale of a completepackaging machine includ-- ing the structures shown in Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig, 4 is a view partly; inside. elevation .and partly in section taken,on line 44 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a'diagra'rrimaticview showing'the electrical and mechanicalinterconnections by which the operation of the machine is controlled.

Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2, we have there shown the filling nozzleI in elliptical form over which a bag or envelope II or other form ofpackage is to be slipped for filling, e. g., as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.Approximately centrally within the filling nozzle I9 is an extrusionnozzle I2 through which the plastic or other more or less stickymaterial is fed by means of the worm. screw I3; and, opening into thefilling nozzle I0 and directed diagonally downward toward the extrusionnozzle I2 and approximately along theplane of the minor axis of theelliptical nozzle I0, is a chute I5 through which the ranular. dry

material may be fed by gravity into the'filling terial' I! has beenextruded from the nozzle I2;

and the last of the noodles orother dry material are falling throughthefilling nozzle I U'above-the slug I! of plastic material, so that asthe-bag is filled" the slug I'I will be entirely enclosedin a mass ofdrynoodles; and' likewise, as'will beobserved, the noodles fallingthrough the narrow space between the filling nozzle I0 andth'e'extrusion nozzle I2 have effected a scouring of the lower" end ofthe extrusion nozzle I2 along its outer surface down to its lower edgeand also" along the inner surface of the filling nozzle I0, so thatthese surfaces are kept clean by this scouring action of the drymaterial in falling through between them.

The spacing of thefilling nozzle lllfrom the extrusion nozzle I-2' andthe respective-lengths of the major and minor axisoftheellipticalseotion of the filling nozzle I0 are shown tos'cale for a preferredembodiment and in any case-rare.

chosen so that the noodles pass in part around the-extrusion nozzle onboth sides, a part-falling d'ownward from the mouth of the chute I5, apart falling on each side, and a part passing'on each side tothe back.Thus a substantially circumferential distribution ofv the. materialfalling through the filling. nozzle. IE1 is secured, with consequentscouring of all sides of. the extrusion nozzle I2.-

As shown. in Fig. l, the feeding and Iproportioning, device. justdescribed may bev applied onto: a standard extruding device, e..g., bymeans of the collar I9. and set screw I8. This device, shown infragmentary sectional view in Fig. 1,

isillustrated in greater detail in Figs. 3 to 5mclusive. A reservoir 2!]is provided into which the plastic material may be fed, e. g., through adoor 2|, from which the material falls by gravity and by action of thestirring rodsez and the up- ;perfportionofthe wormscrew I3intoltlie'extrusionnozzle I2.

Theworm. screw I3 is operated intermittently by the Shaft 22; gearing23, 24, 25, 26'; shaft 21, miter gears 28, 29, Shaft 30 and the cll itch31.

The'c'lutch member 3I'slidably keyed to the'shaft 30 is movablelongitudinally thereon by the rod 32 and linkageconne'cted therewith soas thenga'gethe' clutch 3| at one end; of its'movement and to engage thebrake33'at the oppositeend of its 1 movement. Thus; the operation of theworm'serew I3 isstartedand stopped almostinstantaneously at the propertimes and the amount of material extruded is thus accurately guaged.

The female members 34 of the clutch 3I is driven, e. g., through thesprocket chain 35 from the jack shaft 36, which in turn, is driven bythe motor 31. A stud shaft 38' below-the shaft 36 carries a doublesprocket 39 connected, e. g., by

.sprocket chains as shown to the shaft 36 and the clutch member 42 onthe control shaft respectively.

The drive from the motor 31 is successively through the belt 43, theshaft 36, the chain and sprocket drive. connection 35 to the clutchmember 34 which runs free on the shaft 30 so long as the clutch is'disengaged, and a parallel drive for the control shaft 40 and the partsdriven thereby is taken from the shaft 36 through the sprocket chain 44to the double sprocket 39 and thence back through the sprocket chain IIIto the clutch member 42'. All theseparts-to and ineludingthe clutchmembers 34 and 42- operate continuously whilethe machine is in use; but,asalreadyindicated, the shaft 30 is operated only'when 'the clutch 32 isengaged; as will be presently described.

A pawl 46 on a hub 45 is secured ori the shaft 40 to rotatetherewith-end located ad-jae'eh't theclutch member 42, mostclearlystrewnm Fig. 3- and the upper' portion of Fig. 5'."- 1 h'e pawl 46carries anarm 41 which normally is held just below the inner faceo'ftheclutch member 42,.but the pawl is urg ed by the spring 48 so that assoon as it is released from' the detent 43 by operation either: of 'thetreadle il or solenoid 52 acting through the'linklimwthe arm 41 engages:in one of the notchesin' the periphery of the: clutch: member 42.- 'I heshaft 4E1: is, thereby engaged to rotate: the cam 55oz:

its: end into engagement with the cam roller 55;.fwhich'through :thelink 51 and the bell crank 58 and: the link 32: already mentioned,'.operates the. slidemember 31,;33 to'release the: brakean'd engage theclutch and thereby. to rotate thesha'ft 30 and the remainder of the'drive mechanism for the worm screw I3..

. If the treadle bar 51 is released before the end of a singlerevolution; the? detent' 49': drops back into place, pulls-the pawl 4'6'out of -'eng'agement with the clutch member 42andthus limits. theoperation to that r accomplished during. a. single revolution of,the-cam 55.

The double' gear 24" in addition to engaging the. pinion-23'and theendof'the drive shaft-22 for the worm screw I-3 also engages-the'pinion60 on the end of the tubular shaft-GI by which the agitators B2" arerotated to keep. the mailerial stirred and shaken down around the" wormscrew I 3.

It will be-understoodthat the mechanism just described and to be morefully described below has been chosenas a-convenient'mechanismfor thepurposeof feeding a-material into the package and' through thedevice-ofour invention, --but that our invention isinno waylimited tothe use of'this'particular apparatus ortype-of-apparatus.

Referring now more particularly to-Fig. 45, we have shown the chute I5leading tothe-filling nozzle whom a measuring mechanism desigfiedformeasuring out a predetermined quantity of drymaterial for eachpackage from a reservoir III. This measuring device consistsofaromingt'able II having a plurality. (4 in thepres'ent instance) ofmeasuring cups 12 'formewtheiein integral at their upper edges with thetable II and fittedat their lower edgeson the stationary table 13 whichis provided with a single opening 14 registering with the mouth of thechute l5 and at a point removed from the posidry material falling intoit while it is'in register with the mouth of the reservoir 10. i i

As the table II continues to rotate, it fills the cups l2 andsubsequently comes into register with the chute l5 whereupon its chargeof "the dry material is dumped into the chute l5 and thence down throughthe filling nozzle andinto the package. An agitating or vibrating devicemay be used in connection with the reservoir ID to assure. constantandproper feeding of the dry materials and avoid arching of the materialsat any time in the reservoir.

The table TI is driven through the intermittently operating shaft I6 bythe Geneva gear 17, the worm and wheel 18 and the belt 19 from the motor80.

Although it is feasible for an operator to coordinate the timing of theplastic feeding operation with the timing of the feeding and measuringof the dry materials by operating the treadle each time that a cup 12dumps its noodles into the chute IS the operator can easily recognizethe proper moment for depressing the treadle 5| by the sound of the drymaterial falling through the chute I5. Nevertheless, we have found itmore desirable to automatically interconnect the operation of these twoso that perfect correlation for proper placing of the slug of plasticmaterial within the mass of dry material will be assured for eachpackage.

This we have accomplished in the case illustrated in the drawings bymeans of the micro switch 8|, engaging the cam 82, connected as shown inFig. 4 to the shaft 76, so that this switch is closed each time that acup 12 comes into position over the chute l5, and is open between suchoperations. This micro switch 8! in turn controls the circuit of thesolenoid 52 whereby the clutch mechanism is operated for controlling theoperation of the plastic feeding device, already described.

A master switch 84 is connected in series with the micro switch 8| inthe solenoid circuit, and at the same time controls the operatingcircuits of the two motors 3'! and 80, whereby the operator may shutdown the machine entirely. Obviously, instead of using a three-contactswitch at 84, as shown in this diagram, a single switch in the supplyleads 85 may be used for the same purpose.

In the case illustrated in the drawings, we have also provided adjacentthe feeding nozzle ID, a device for feeding and opening the bags orenvelope packages l l This device as shown consists of the inclined ramp90 in which the envelopes are stacked, as shown, the weight 9| freelypivoted at 92cm the frame of the device so that in tending to swingdownward it urges the bags forward against the end 93 of the ramp, andthe air nozzle 94 directly above the end 93 and spaced therefrom so thatit catches on the rear edge of the bag, which is slightly higher thanthe front edge. Thus the stack of bags is held back between the nozzle94 and the edge 93 while theair escaping through the nozzle 94 blows the.bag openready .for filling. The operator may then remove the-open bagand slip it directly over the filling-nozzle HLdoing this in rapidsuccession. as ieach in turn is filled. v The air for the bag openingnozzle 94 is supplied through a conduit 95 from a blower, e. g., drivenby the motor through suitable connections, the blower in this case beingpositioned behind the. ramp 9!) and, therefore, not shown in thedrawings.

What we claim'is: z 1. In a-device for filling into packages a drygranular material and a plastic, a reservoir for the plastic, means. forextruding the plastic including a downwardly directed nozzle,.areservoir for the dry: granular material, a continuously operatingdevice for repeatedly accumulating a predetermined quantity of the drymaterial and dumping said quantity en masse, a switch responsive to saiddumping operation for energizing the extruding means to cause it toextrude a predetermined quantity of plastic, and a conduit for guidingsaid dry material to and around said nozzle, whereby the plastic isextruded into a falling mass of plastic.

2. A device as defined in claim 1, in which the end of said conduit isof narrow substantially elliptical form approximately concentric withand narrowly spaced from the extruding nozzle whereby an envelopepackage may readily be fitted over the end of said conduit to receivetherein a measured supply of said materials.

3. A device as defined in claim 1, in which the end ofsaid conduit is ofnarrow substantially elliptical form approximately concentric with andnarrowly spaced from the extruding nozzle whereby an envelope packagemay readily be fitted over the end of said conduit to receive therein ameasured supply of said materials, and the conduit above said end is atan angle thereto extending obliquely upward and approximately in theminor axis plane of the eliptical portion whereby the falling stream ofgranular material is distributed on all sides of the nozzle.

4. In a device for filling containers with a dry granular material and aplastic, a, reservoir for plastic material, means for extruding ameasured amount of plastic material, a reservoir for dry granularmaterial, means for supplying measured amounts of dry granular materialat substantial velocity to and around the point of extrusion of theplastic material, and means responsive to each actuation of thesupplying means for operating the extruding means in timed relationtherewith to eject a slug of plastic material into the approximatecenter of the measured quantity of dry granular material, whereby thegranular material will surround the extruded plastic material in thecontainer while the velocity of the granules will cause them to have ascrubbing action at the point of extrusion of the plastic extrudingmeans.

5; In a filling device, a downwardly directed filling nozzle adapted todischarge into a container, a downwardly directed extrusion nozzlewithin said filling nozzle, spaced therefrom on all sides, andterminating short of the end of said filling nozzle, a port in saidfilling nozzle disposed above the end of the extrusion nozzle, means forsupplying measured amounts of dry free flowing granules at substantialvelocity through said port, and means coordinated with said supplyingmeans for momentarily extruding plastic through said extrusion nozzleaster the fl'rst and before the last of "the discharged granules havepassed through said filling 'nozzle, whereby thefgranules will surroundthe extruded plastic m-ate'rial 'inthe container while-the velocity ofthe granules will cause them to have a scrubbing action with respect-tothe disch'arge ehd of the extrusion nozzle.

6. In a filling device, a downwardly directed filling nozzle ofelliptical ferln "adapted 'to' dischargeinto a container, a downwardlydirected extrusion nozzle within said filling nozzle,uspaced therefromon all sides, and terminating snort of the end of said "filling nozzle,a chute fer the delivery of dry free flowing granules directeddownwardly towardand into said filling nozzle, toward the side of theextrusion nozzle and sub- 'stantially above its end, said chute being ofap- 'preeiable length and "of substantially uniform cross sectional areato permit free flow there-- through, means for supplyingmeasuredquan'tities of dry free flowing granules at the upper 10' itheextrud'ed=plastic1'inthe container. J

; '7. The :method of-"filling"-containers with d freefldw-ing granulesand a sticky plastic :mate- -rial which :comprises extruding a measuredamount oi 'plastic'through a nozzle, causing a meas'ured amount of:granules to pass in a stream Forappreciable'ye'locity over the exteriorof the nozzle'fbeforepafter and during the extrusionof the "plastic :soas to keep the nozzle scrubbed cleancfplastic;and collecting the plasticsur- -20 rounded-by granules in a container.

GEORGE L. STERNFIELD. STEPHEN L.-GALVIN.

